Midsummer Memories--Swedish potato salad with cucumber and red onion

As many of you know, we recently relocated to the South. Our move happened to fall on Midsummer, which is better known as the summer solstice. While not a huge deal here in the USA, in Sweden (which is where my mom is from) people go all out celebrating. While massive amounts of liquor are usually consumed, standard summer fare is served consisting of boiled potatoes and pickled herring. The potato salad below offers a nice twist on traditional Midsummer dishes. I make this potato salad year round, and it is especially great for those of you who do not like the typical mayo-based potato salad.


Swedish potato salad with cucumber and red onion
Serves 10
141 calories/6 grams of fat/3 grams of fiber per serving
3 Weight Watchers Points per serving

Ingredients
6 medium sized red potatoes, skins on, well-scrubbed, cubed into large chunks
1 cup English cucumber, skin on, diced
¼ cup red onion, diced
1/2 cup red-wine vinegar
¼ cup canola oil
1 tsp salt,
1 tsp pepper
1 tbs fresh parsley, chopped

Directions
-Boil cubed potatoes until fork tender (about 10 minutes once they start to boil).
-Drain and return to pot.
-In a small bowl, mix remaining ingredients.
-Pour mixture over hot potatoes. Lightly toss until well mixed.
-Allow salad to cool, and then refrigerate overnight.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

Father's Day Flashback--Balsamic green beans with baby mozzarella and tomatoes

2 years ago on Father's Day, I found out I was pregnant with our little man! Being excited, we went out for dinner to celebrate at a local Italian place (this was pre-morning sickness!). I ordered this salad and fell in love. I have modified it to be lower in fat and calories. It is the perfect dish to serve prior to a meal, or just as a plain old side. It also works great for a picnic take-along! It has become a summer time favorite of mine.

Balsamic green beans with baby mozzarella and tomatoes
Serves 8
141 calories/8 grams fat/3 grams fiber
4 Weight Watchers points per serving

Ingredients
2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and cut in half
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
½ a red onion, quartered and sliced thin
½ cup fresh mini-mozzarella balls, packed in water (not oil marinade)
½ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup honey
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Directions
-Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
-Drop in green beans and cook for 2 minutes until color turns bright green.
-Quickly strain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
-Pour cooled green beans into a large mixing bowl.
-Mix green beans with tomato halves, sliced onion and mozzarella balls.
-In a separate bowl, mix balsamic vinegar, oil, honey, salt and pepper. For best results, use an immersion blender for a rich and creamy dressing. If you don’t have an immersion blender, use a whisk and beat ingredients until dressing begins to thicken.
-Pour dressing over green bean salad, and combine well.
-Refrigerate overnight.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

A taste of the islands--coconut and red bean rice

Summertime always makes me want to experiment with new dishes, and recently, the Caribbean seems to be my inspiration. Something about the smell of jerk seasoning makes we want to sit back with a margarita and indulge in foods from the islands. This side-dish incorporates some traditional flavors with a twist to make it a healthy alternative. Serve with jerk chicken for a complete meal.


Coconut rice
Makes 2 cups of rice
4 servings (1/2 cup of rice)
Per serving
Calories 185
Fat 2
Fiber 3
POINTS 3

Ingredients
2/3 cup low-fat coconut milk
1/3 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup canned kidney beans or red beans
1/2 cup white rice
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 red pepper, diced
1/8 tsp tumeric
1/8 tsp thyme
salt/pepper

Directions
-Saute onion and pepper in PAM
-Add coconut milk and chicken stock, bring to a boil.
-Add beans, spices, salt and pepper.
-Add rice. Return to boil. Cover and reduce heat to low.
-Simmer cook 15 minutes.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

Eating ourselves out of house and home: 20 days, 1 full freezer, 2 hungry adults

The count-down has begun. We have decided to take the plunge and move South. While many challenges lie ahead, the biggest one right now is eating all of the food we have in the house! My goal over the next few weeks is to eat my way through all of the frozen ingredients I have stocked up on. From a meat/poultry perspective the freezer isn't too full: 1 flank steak, 2 packs of ground turkey, and 12 chicken breasts. There are also the random veggies: corn, broccoli, artichoke hearts, brussel sprouts and spinach. The goal is to use up as much as I can in the next 19 days so I have as little left as possible by the end of the month.

Turkey-Spinach Meatloaf will knock one pack of turkey and 1 box of spinach off the list, while supplying us with 2 dinners (one loaf to eat this week, one to freeze for next week). 1 loaf easily serves two adults, with enough left over for a small sandwich the next day. Serve with mashed potatoes for a real comfort-food dinner.

Turkey-Spinach Meatloaf
Makes 2 loaves
16 points per loaf (800 calories)
Each loaf makes 8 pieces, 2 points per piece (100 calories)

Ingredients
-PAM
-1/2 onion, chopped
-1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
-1 egg, beaten
-1 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
-1.25 pounds ground turkey breast
-1 (10-ounce) packages frozen leaf spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
-1 cup chili sauce, divided

Directions
-Pre-heat oven 350 degrees.
-In a large saucepan, saute onion until soft and translucent.
-Add spinach and cook over low heat for 5 minutes.
-In a medium bowl, mix breadcrumbs, egg, ½ cup chili sauce, salt and pepper.
-Combine breadcrumb mixture with spinach and onion mixture.
-Add ground turkey to mixture and work until well blended but do not over mix.
-Line a large cookie sheet with foil and spray with PAM.
-Form turkey mixture into 2 loaves. Top each loaf with 1/4 cup chili sauce.
-Bake 30-45 minutes, until juice from loaves run clear.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

Swedish meatballs better than Ikea's

I went to Ikea last weekend to get some stuff for my upcoming move. As I passed the cafeteria, I realized that I have not made my Swedish meatballs in AGES. They are a little time consuming, but very yummy and surprisingly low in point. In Sweden they are usually served with a sweet cream-based sauce, but I have lightened it up by eliminating the cream and focusing on the sweetness by adding honey. Serve with boiled red potatoes and lingonberry jam (similar to a cross between red currant and cranberry) for a complete meal!

As we say in Sweden "smaklig måltid"

Swedish Meatballs
28 points in all of meatballs
Makes 20-30 meatballs
Comes out to about 200 calories in 5 meatballs

-1.25 pounds 85% lean beef
-1/4 cup bread crumbs
-1/2 cup milk
-1 egg
-1 small cooked potato
-1/2 half onion, finely grated
-salt, pepper, parsley

-Mix bread crumbs and milk, Season with salt pepper and parsley. Let stand until thick.
-Mash up cooked potato and mix into bread crumb mixture. Add egg and grated onion. Mix until smooth.
-Mix in ground meat until just blended.
-Spray large pan with PAM and heat to medium-high.
-With wet hands, roll meat mixture into 3/4 inch balls.
-Brown meatballs on each side until they no longer look pink, then simmer on low until cooked through.


SAUCE
5 points in sauce

-1 can beef broth
-1/4 cup honey
-Soy sauce
-Pepper & salt


-Remove meatballs from pan. Over low heat, add broth and mix rapidly with a wisk to loosen any bits.
-Mix in honey and soy. Reduce by half. Slowly add corn starch and mix well. Add pepper and parsley.

Manicotti that is good for you!

I love baked pasta. However, most baked pasta dishes are so high in carbs and fat that I tend to avoid them. That was until I started making my own versions of some of my favorite classic dishes. This stuffed manicotti is packed with spinach and tomatoes, reducing the calories significantly, while giving you an extra serving of veggies. Serve with a simple salad and some steamed cauliflower and you have a very healthy dinner providing you with at least 2 of your recommended 5 daily servings of vegetables.

Spinach-tomato Manicotti
4 points per manicotti shell (about 200 calories)
12 servings

12 manicotti shells
1 small container part-skim ricotta
20 oz frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
1 can diced tomatoes
1 jar Rinaldi tomato-basil sauce
1 tbs Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

Directions
-Pre-heat oven 350 degrees.
-Cook manicotti according to package directions.
-Drain diced tomatoes, reserving liquid in a medium sized mixing bowl.
-In a separate bowl, mix drained diced tomato chunks with spinach, ricotta, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
-Mix Rinaldi sauce into liquid from the diced tomatoes.
-Divide spinach-ricotta mixture equally between 12 cooked manicotti shells.
-Spray a 9X12 baking dish with PAM. Coat bottom of baking dish with a thin layer of tomato sauce mixture.
-Lay the stuffed manicotti into the baking dish. Top with remaining tomato sauce.
-Bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.

A lunch truck favorite re-born--Chicken special sandwiches

A few years back when I started working for my current company, I spent many days in Newark, NJ working at one of our local hospitals. Though the environment was stressful, the thought of a delicious, greasy, cheesy, chicken special sandwich that awaited me at the lunch truck (aka, the grease truck), kept me going through the morning, and my full stomach after lunch kept me going long enough to finish up my day. In order to prevent a heart attack, I had to modify my favorite sandwich to be not so unhealthy, yet still super delicious. This recipe is really easy, and satisfies any cravings you may have for a lunch truck special.

Chicken Special Sandwiches
Makes 4 sandwiches
8 points per sandwich (about 400 calories)

-4 Calandras Sandwich rolls (or any other Italian-style roll that has about 100 calories in it)
-20 oz of boneless chicken breast, sliced into thin short strips
-1 tbs Italian seasoning
-1 tsp garlic powder
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
-1 onion, sliced (slice onion in half, then each half into thin slices)
-1 green pepper, sliced into thin slices
-1/2 cup shredded cheese
-4 tbs ketchup
-PAM

Directions
-Mix together all of spices, toss with chicken slices and let sit for 10 minutes.
-Heat a large skillet, sprayed with PAM, over medium high heat.
-Saute onions and peppers until soft. Transfer to a bowl.
-Saute chicken until cooked all the way through (about 5-10 minutes).
-Add onions and peppers, and saute an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
-Cut sub rolls in half. Top each half with 2 tbs shredded cheese.
-Toast each sub roll until cheese is melted.
-Top with 1/4 of chicken/veggie mixture and 1 tbs ketchup.

Healthy meals to nourish your mind.